Tweaker 88 Clean headroom question...

[fishstick_kitty]

Well, I've been using this amp (with the Egnater 2x12 cab) for about a month now. I can say that I'm very happy with this amp, but surprisingly, I wish it had more "crystal clear" clean head room. Typically, with the band, I'm running the master at around 2:00-3:00 and the gain at around 9:00 (on the rhythm channel). If I nudge the gain any higher, then I start to get slight breakup.

In my perfect world, I could crank this thing as loud as I want without ANY breakup...but alas it's not the case.

My other amp (which is broken at the moment) is a Randall RM50 with a clean module and that thing cranks clean and I love it. If I could just get this tweaker to do the same, I'd love this even more...because I really like the tone of the Tweaker much better overall...until it starts to break up.

Any suggestions?

 

[shimmilou]

For less gain overall, try a lower gain tube such as a 5751 in position V1, and if that isn't enough put another one in V2. Additionally, using a 12AT7 in the V4 position (PI) would give more headroom also.

 

[fishstick_kitty]

For less gain overall, try a lower gain tube such as a 5751 in position V1, and if that isn't enough put another one in V2. Additionally, using a 12AT7 in the V4 position (PI) would give more headroom also.

Good suggestions...I am buying those (along w/ a 12AY7) tonight...I'll report back. I'm especially interested in how much difference the PI tube change will have.

 

[fishstick_kitty]

For less gain overall, try a lower gain tube such as a 5751 in position V1, and if that isn't enough put another one in V2. Additionally, using a 12AT7 in the V4 position (PI) would give more headroom also.

I popped an 12AT7 into the PI socket last night and it made a big difference for the better. I was really able to dig into more of the features of the amp because it wasn't breaking up at rehearsal volume as much. It sounded great!!

Next time I'm going to try putting a 5751 into the V1 slot and see what that does (lower gain pre-amp tube). I've got a 12AY7 on standby too.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[shimmilou]

Awesome! For clean sound in most any amp, I really like the AT in the PI position. I think that you'll find the 5751 in the preamp gives a richer sound, is more responsive, and is smoother than an AX when using gain.

 

[fishstick_kitty]

For less gain overall, try a lower gain tube such as a 5751 in position V1, and if that isn't enough put
another one in V2. Additionally, using a 12AT7 in the V4 position (PI) would give more headroom also.

Well, Tuesday was another rehearsal w/ the band, and I threw a 5751 in the V1 position. Overall, I didn't think the tube improved my sound. It was brittle and shrill sounding compared to the AX and still broke up at the same volume as the AX. Even though there was less gain from the tube, I found that the rig broke up at the same overall volume...and the feeling was that my sound was a tad shrill...like the tube was compressing more...and it had less touch sensitivity. All night I would tweak the EQ and flip switches to see if I could compensate...but alas, it wasn't happening. Just my "non-technical" impressions.

I don't know how much difference there is between different brands of 5751...I believe the one I bought was a JJ. I'll probably put the 12AX7 back in there for now.

I will say that last week when I just changed the PI tube to the AT, I liked that combo (so an AT in the PI slot and stock AXs in the pre-amp slots has been a good change so far).

 

[Buckeyedog]

You definitely need an older 5751 like a JAN/GE or something of that type. They are not that expensive either.

 

[shimmilou]

+1 Buckeyedog

As far as the 5751, JJ or Sovtek aren't the best choices for the V1 position. I'm not a fan of JJ preamp tubes at all.

 

[fishstick_kitty]

You definitely need an older 5751 like a JAN/GE or something of that type. They are not that expensive either.

Ok, I've got a couple NOS GEs on order...thanks

 

[Buckeyedog]

Cool. They are always cool to have around even if they don't work in your V1. Try them in the PI slot and other slots as well just to see the impact.

 

[fishstick_kitty]

I've got the NOS 5751 in V1 and it's definitely better than both the original and the JJ so thanks for the suggestion. Still, the amp is lacking clean headroom. I feel like I'm able to use about 25% of the power because the other 75% occurs after breakup begins (gain at just under 9:00 and master dimed).